PhD position: The Analysis of Multimodal Argumentation

The Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, offers a four year, employed position to complete a PhD within a project led by dr. Jan Albert van Laar (University of Groningen), dr. Emar Maier (University of Groningen) and prof. dr. Jean Wagemans (University of Amsterdam). Other members of the project team are: prof. dr. Lilian Bermejo-Luque (University of Granada), dr. Lotte van Poppel (University of Groningen) and dr. Janina Wildfeuer (University of Groningen).



The position is part of the project The Normativity of Multimodal Arguments, which is funded by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO). The project aims to integrate description- and explanation-oriented insights into argumentation, as developed in multimodal semiotics and superlinguistics, with evaluation-oriented theories of argumentation, as developed in formal dialectics, pragma-dialectics and normative pragmatics. The motivation is to shed light on how participants in argumentative practices do, can and should deal with the vagaries of multimodal meaning.



The PhD project “The Analysis of Multimodal Argumentation” is concerned with the identification, reconstruction and characterization of argumentation, both in face-to-face conversations and in political and non-commercial advertisements. The focus will be on argumentation as communicated through multimodal means, i.e. by the interplay of different expressive forms such as spoken or written language, (moving) images, animations, sound, gestures, or others. How do these expressive forms or semiotic modes interact to construct meaning? Which patterns of meaning-making reveal argumentative speech acts and argumentative reasoning? Addressing these questions aims at developing a way of identifying the particularly multimodal structures of argumentation, with a specific focus on (audio-)visually implicit meanings. The PhD student will be given space to develop their own detailed PhD project plan.



Organisation

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Balanced study and career paths in a wide variety of disciplines encourage the 34,000 students and researchers to develop their own individual talents. Belonging to the best research universities in Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Requirements:

The PhD candidate is expected to



- Have an MA degree and an excellent academic record. If an MA degree has not yet been completed, a statement from the supervisor as to their assessment of the time of completion and the quality of the work in progress is required.

- Be fluent in English, both written and spoken.

- Have familiarity and affinity with argumentation studies/theory, for example: dialectics, pragma-dialectics, rhetoric, informal logic, (critical) discourse analysis, or relevant areas of social epistemology, pragmatics, or philosophy of language.

- Have familiarity and affinity with multimodal communication.

- Have familiarity and affinity with formal semantics and/or semiotics.

- Have a background in philosophy with a clear interest in linguistics and argumentation, or a background in linguistics with a clear interest in philosophy and argumentation.

- Be willing to engage in interdisciplinary research.

- Enjoy planning, and taking initiative.

- Write academic articles and present at workshops and conferences.

- Have the ambition to develop into an independent researcher.

Salary Benefits:

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities



- A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross per month in the fourth and final year for a full-time working week (salary scale PhD).

- A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income, an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance and participation in a pension scheme for employees.

- A full-time position (1.0 FTE). The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of twelve months with the option of renewal for the remainder of the four years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first nine months to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within four years is to be expected. It will be a position for four years; first, you will get a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years; extension of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year so that successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected.

- A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Philosophy.



It is required to be a resident in Groningen.



General information about the University of Groningen’s PhD programme can be found here https://www.rug.nl/education/phd-programmes/



The preferred starting date is at, or close to 1 September 2025.

38 hours per week

Broerstraat 5